Brandon Vorkink
Mrs. Steadman
Writing 150
3 April 2012
White
Shirt and Tie
I remember timidly walking up the short stair case
dressed in my white shirt and tie. I
stood on the front porch for a moment and gazed at the door, with my dad
standing right by my side. I slowly
reached out, knocked on the door three times, and then stepped back to
wait. My hands were sweaty and my heart
was racing. What must have been just a
few seconds seemed like an eternity as I waited for the sister to come to the
door. A short woman, probably in her mid
forties, opened the door with a smile and said in a friendly voice, “Come on in
guys!” I smiled, shook her hand, and
then walked in and found a place to sit on the soft leather couch.
“How have you been?” asked my dad. The conversation
started and I had no intention of joining in.
I sat there quietly hoping that she or my dad wouldn’t ask me any
questions or direct the conversation to me in any way. Thankfully my dad did pretty much all of the
talking. He had been home teaching this
sister for years, and both got along very well.
I on the other hand, barely knew this sister at all. I may have seen her in the congregation at
church a few times, but I had never talked to her before.
After the conversation died down, the time had finally come. My father leaned towards me and said, “Well,
Brandon has prepared a little lesson for you.”
This was the part that I was nervous about. I had no idea how I could possibly teach
something to this sister who had way more gospel knowledge and experience than I
did. After all, I was only twelve years
old and she was at least thirty years older than me. I had just barely entered young mens as a
deacon. What could I possibly teach her
that she didn’t already know? I had to
read the First Presidency Message multiple times before I understood the message
because I was so nervous about this lesson that I had a hard time concentrating
on the reading and actually understanding it.
Ready
or not, I began the lesson that I had prepared from the Ensign. I nervously began by telling her the name of the
talk and the author. I then quickly
began to summarize the main points, or at least what I thought were the main
points, of the message. I followed my
notes and underlining very closely to be sure not to mess up. I didn’t even look up once during the entire
lesson. Once I had covered the main
parts of the speech, I closed with, “in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” I had no desire to make the lesson any longer
by adding my thoughts or by bearing my testimony so I sat back in the couch and
waited for my dad to take over again. Thankfully
he did. He asked, “Is there anything we
can do for you?” and then we closed with a prayer. We left the house and hopped in my dad’s new
Toyota Camry to go to our next appointment.
Six
years later I confidently walked up that same short stair case for the last
time. I was now eighteen years old. Once again I stood on the porch, dressed in a
white shirt and tie, with my dad by my side, and knocked on the door. The door opened and I excitedly exchanged
greetings with the sister I had come close to over the past six years. I had recently graduated from high school and
was soon leaving home to attend college at Brigham Young University. This being the case, this was going to be my last
time home teaching this sister. We had a
lengthy conversation about my plans for the future including college, a
mission, and life after that. I enjoyed
my time visiting with her in her home and I actively participated in the
conversation. I didn’t feel
uncomfortable in the least bit being in her home and carrying on a conversation
with her.
Once again, the time had come. My dad leaned in my direction and said,
“Well, Brandon has prepared a lesson for you.”
I had prayerfully read and pondered the message and I was fully prepared
to give it. I began by introducing the
title of the talk that my lesson was based off of and the church authority that
had delivered it. I then began to
discuss some points in the talk that I felt were important and that I felt she
needed to hear. I added my thoughts and
feelings into the lesson and then asked her for her own thoughts and feelings. I gave her a challenge which she accepted and
then I concluded the lesson by bearing my testimony. Following the lesson, the sister said,
“Brandon, some day you will be a great missionary.”
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